


Fair Trials

by DedicatedSeeker



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:02:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26115376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DedicatedSeeker/pseuds/DedicatedSeeker
Summary: Weiss needs a date but can't find one, so Yang takes matters into her own hands.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 20
Kudos: 81





	1. In Life

**Author's Note:**

> This was started months ago for monochrome week, and the prompt was fake dating. It has now gotten longer than necessary for that so will include multiple chapters. I hope the shenanigans can provide some joy in these uncertain times.

Ever since her father was sent to prison for his various misdeeds as the head of the wealthiest corporation in all of Remnant, Weiss thought that her life was going quite well, all things considered. While the shareholders currently controlled the Schnee Dust Company’s day to day activities, Weiss and Whitley were currently studying at different universities for their business degrees. At the time, she was secretly grateful that her brother decided to stay in Atlas, given their father’s arrest and subsequent trial were events that she couldn’t be present at, having had to represent the company at an important business meeting in Mistral. She couldn’t even watch the trial itself since it was behind closed doors. All she knew was the name of the lawyer who had successfully led to Jacques’ imprisonment, Blake Belladonna.

One of these days, Weiss was going to take this Blake out to dinner as a way of expressing her gratitude. She just needed to find an opportunity in between her classes and the lawyer’s no doubt busy schedule, especially after taking on such an infamous case. Weiss was positive that Blake’s law firm in Vale received countless calls now, and the distance between them only made it more difficult to schedule a face to face meeting. It bothered her more than it probably should have, but the fact remained that she was the only person in her family yet to meet the lawyer.

Her remaining family members had only spoken positively about Blake in the short conversations Weiss was able to have with them in between classes, meetings, and the general busyness that was her daily life. It was rare to see them so agreeable about anything, so she knew that Blake had to be excellent just for being able to maneuver through the complicated dynamics of the Schnee family, not to mention successfully managing to close the case. Weiss hadn’t even seen what Blake looked like, choosing to ignore all public media coverings of the case and only trusting her family with any updates. She supposed when the time came to finally meet up with Blake that he’d be easy enough to see. She’d just need to find a well put together man.

As if the universe was listening to her thoughts, it seemed an opportunity presented itself to speak with her family once she decided to take a hiatus in her studies after the spring semester ended. A few weeks before the break began, Willow had completed her rehabilitation program and was currently settling back into the mostly empty mansion. Once Weiss found that she had free time, she immediately video called her mother.

Willow had been trying to be more attentive to all of her children after Jacques’ arrest, and they all appreciated the effort, though not everyone believed that she was being genuine until she checked herself into a rehab program. Without alcohol to inhibit Willow’s thoughts and senses, Weiss found that it was actually pleasant to speak to her mother for the first time in years. After exchanging pleasantries and awkward small talk, a topic Weiss never thought she’d willingly discuss with anyone in her family came up, her love life. Or rather, her lack of one.

Over the years, each child of the Schnee family was subject to rumors from the press about their love lives, making it difficult to discern fact from fiction unless they discussed it with each other, which would be a nonissue for a family with good communication skills. The Schnee family did not fall under this category, so Weiss actually had no idea that her siblings were apparently taken until her mom casually brought it up in their conversation.

“The shareholders suggested that I throw a party of some sort to celebrate my sobriety, but I know they just want an excuse for the company to hold a huge public event.” Willow said with a roll of her eyes, and Weiss couldn’t help but smile. Slowly, she was seeing more of the mother who had raised her as time passed. “I accepted anyway, because I deserve a celebration. But mostly because...I want to see all of my children together again. It’s been a while since we’ve all stepped foot in the same room, and I know it’s because you’ve all been so busy lately…”

As her mother trailed off, Weiss looked away from the screen guiltily. She knew that she and her siblings had been so busy with work and school that they hadn’t been back at the mansion. Weiss considered making an excuse to not attend since she tired of these events but stopped herself when Willow spoke up again.

“Winter and Whitley have already agreed to attend with their significant others when I asked them earlier this week, so will I be seeing you and your special someone as well?”   
  
Weiss bit her lip, trying to process the fact that her siblings were apparently dating while the overwhelming thought of not wanting to disappoint her mother was brought to the forefront of her mind.

“Of course, Mom. I won’t disappoint you.”

* * *

Weiss was going to disappoint her mother.

Ever since Weiss started her studies, that became her priority, and she made no room for much of anything or anybody else that would distract her from focusing. She stared down at the official invitation to the party, which was scheduled three months from then.

“Looking at that won’t solve your problem,” Yang stated, like Weiss needed an unhelpful reminder of her predicament. Weiss shifted her gaze to the blonde in front of her and suddenly wished that her glare still had some effect on Yang. Instead, her cherished friend took another sip from her coffee cup as if Weiss hadn’t just finally opened up after weeks of making excuses to not see her friends and distracting herself.

Sighing, Weiss looked around the cafe, hoping for a distraction from the invitation and woman before her. Weiss’s eyes locked with a sharp amber, and she found herself captivated by how they shifted as the woman who they belonged to continued to stare her down. In the span of a few seconds, the woman’s eyes widened in recognition, blinked in bewilderment, then settled on a calm yet piercing gaze as Weiss refused to be the one to look away first. It felt like an odd battle of wills, and Weiss would not be the first to give in.

Then, the woman had the audacity to smirk, and Weiss was very tempted to get up and tell her to stop. Just because she was attractive didn’t mean she could sit there and aggravate Weiss in a way she didn’t care to think too deeply about, honestly. Weiss was going through a crisis, and she felt as if she was being toyed with. She glared, which only made that infuriating smirk widen. The woman then lifted the cup that she was drinking in a mock toast, which Weiss swore contained tea out of all drinks, and that was simply the last straw--

“Instead of sitting here and checking someone out, you could make a move.”

Weiss’s eyes snapped back to her friend, who was watching her with a smirk that Weiss did not like one bit. She rolled her eyes then subtly tilted her head in the direction of the other woman. Yang then proceeded to stretch in a very exaggerated way, quickly twisting her body around to look at who had captured Weiss’s attention. When she turned back around, she winked.

“Yang, I don’t want to hear--”

“Nice.”

Glaring at her friend over her coffee cup, Weiss took a sip instead of responding. All that did was encourage Yang to continue.

“If it makes you feel better, she was definitely looking at you when I turned around. Why don’t you ask her to be your date?”   
  
“Fake dating? Please. I’m sure I can figure something out without having to resort to that.”

Yang raised a skeptical eyebrow but didn’t say anything else. As she sipped her own coffee, she suddenly remembered why that woman looked familiar.

“Hey, isn’t that--”

“If I ever happen to find a date in this cafe, I will accept your cooking lessons.”

Intrigued, Yang leaned forward. She had been trying to get Weiss to learn how to cook for years, so there was no way she’d pass up this opportunity. Besides, that could be a way for her to impress a future date, which Yang was definitely going to try and find in this cafe.

In the back of her mind, she remembered that there was something she was going to say to Weiss, but her thoughts were now overtaken by various plans to ensure that Weiss found someone. Oh well, it probably wasn’t important anyway.

“Really? After years of me offering with no catch, this is what makes you give in?”

“I’m only agreeing because it’s not going to happen. Besides, you know that I will keep my word if it does, which it won’t.” Weiss stated, a note of finality in her voice that had Yang rolling her eyes. Typically, Weiss tended to be right, so Yang just accepted that this was going to be another one of those times and shifted her focus to the problem at hand.

“Right. So wanna head to a bar?”

“Yang, now is not the time--”

“Except it is the time. If you don’t wanna look here, then why not try looking somewhere else?” Weiss tried to think of some excuse she could use to reject her but came up with nothing. The longer she took to say something, the wider Yang’s sudden smirk got, so she eventually just huffed in defeat. “You never know who’s willing to try.”

“Let’s just go before I change my mind. Since when were you such an expert on love anyway?” Surprisingly, Yang looked away and even had what appeared to be a light blush on her face. This time, Weiss was the one to lean forward, intrigued. “Yang Xiao Long, have you been in a serious relationship for a while without revealing any details to me?”

“She likes her privacy, okay?”

“You’re not going to reveal who this mystery woman is?”

“Nope.” At Weiss’s frustrated huff, Yang shrugged. “Honestly, it shouldn’t be long before you find out anyway. Now let’s go before the bar gets too crowded.”

Yang got up and extended a hand to help Weiss out, the woman just sighing at the vague response and waving the hand away. They paid for their drinks before heading out to the local bar.

A few hours later, an agitated Weiss and apologetic Yang were heading back to Yang’s apartment. It seemed that Yang had briefly forgotten how many people would try to approach them, focusing mainly on Weiss once Yang revealed her relationship status. Normally, most of the people would back off from the intimidating presence that Weiss and Yang made, but the latter announcing how her friend was looking for a date probably didn’t help to discourage people.

That night, Weiss didn’t think much of their little visit, practically passing out in the guest bedroom. The next day, Yang would wake up to a very angry friend storming into her room and dragging her out to the living room. Yang wisely stayed silent as Weiss turned on the television then buried her head in her hands as the reporters continued to discuss whether or not the rumors that Weiss Schnee was looking for a date in bars was true.

Clearing up rumors was never fun, and Yang dreaded the furious call that was sure to come later in the day once the rest of Weiss’s family knew about this. She was just focused on thinking of a way to make up for her mistake and came up with a plan. As she glanced over at her suddenly anxious friend, Yang only hoped that things would work out and would try her best to help out as much as she could.

After an extremely stressful month of various tabloid interviews where Weiss was forced to admit that she was, in fact, looking for a date, she glanced at her calendar. It was now two months until the party, and Weiss still had not found anyone despite the sudden spike in suitors. To make her hopeful mother happy, she did go on a few dates, but none of them interested her enough for a chance at anything lasting.

“Okay, so what if you tried meeting people but not in person?”

Weiss’s gaze moved to the younger woman casually playing video games on the couch, and she briefly considered whether trying to scold Ruby for her terrible posture would be a waste of time. She concluded that it was. “Elaborate.”

“Well, apps and online dating sites exist.”

Rubbing her forehead, Weiss tried to stop the budding headache that was starting to build just thinking about that. “I’m...aware of that, but those are more suited for people not in the public eye.” Trying to ignore the pout at that, Weiss decided to clarify. “It would be unwise to try using those since I wouldn’t know who they were while they would be very familiar with me and my family. How would I know if they were being genuine or not?”

Although she was still pouting, Ruby took time to at least think about that. Then, she shifted in her seat, and Weiss narrowed her eyes. In the years that she has known Ruby, Weiss only saw her do that when she was nervous about something. “Ruby, what is it?”

Hesitantly, Ruby looked at her, and Weiss only crossed her arms as she waited for a reply. “Um...what if someone made an account for you and has been talking to someone…” Ruby trailed off as Weiss’s face started to redden.

As Weiss considered her friend, something occurred to her. Ruby wasn’t the type of person to do that behind her back, but she certainly knew someone who would attempt to help her in such a roundabout way. She kept her voice as level as she could, trying not to let her frustration show. “Ruby, where is your sister?”

“Yang said she was only trying to help!” Ruby blurted out.

Sighing, Weiss could only shake her head. “I’m sure she is, but I don’t need her help.”

The skeptical eyebrow raised reminded her too much of Yang’s expression from the previous month, and she was about to defend herself when Ruby spoke up. “The person she’s been talking to isn’t so bad…”

Intrigued, Weiss thought about that. If even Ruby approved, then perhaps there was some hope. “Who is it?”

“Nope.”

“No?”

“I solemnly swore to my sister that I wouldn’t tell.”

Sighing in exasperation, Weiss tried to silently plead for more information, but Ruby wouldn’t budge. “Ruby, this is crucial!” Nothing. “Can I at least have a name?”

“Let me ask Yang,” Ruby replied, fingers already speedily typing a message.

Suddenly, Weiss received a call, and she sighed when she saw her mother’s face on the screen. This was likely going to be another check-in, and she braced herself for the conversation before answering. They greeted each other, discussing various topics until the inevitable subject of the party was brought except this time Willow said something that had Weiss cursing Yang out in her head. She hadn’t even known that Yang was talking to Willow without her.

“Yesterday, Yang told me that you found a date. I’m so happy for you, Weiss. Who is it?”

At this point, Weiss was internally panicking, and she looked up, her eyes landing on Ruby, who had found a piece of paper and was quickly scribbling something. Since Yang was the one who told her mother, Weiss had no choice but to go along with the name of whoever it was that she was talking to. Once Ruby finished writing and held the piece of paper up for Weiss to see, she didn’t have time to process it as she read the name written.

“Blake.”

Silence was all that followed for several moments as everyone tried to process what was said. Weiss wasn’t sure if her mother being silent meant disapproval or not, but all that was running through her mind, aside from the lengthy lecture she was going to give Yang later, was how she was going to convince Willow that she was dating a man she’d never met before. But it seemed her worries were unfounded.

“Oh, why didn’t you say anything sooner? That’s wonderful news!”

“It... is…” Weiss replied, trying to make her uncertainty not so obvious in her voice.

“The shareholders won’t be pleased,” Willow continued, though she sounded delighted by that.

“Truly?”

“Absolutely. Blake wouldn’t have let them run the company unless certain policy changes were put into place.” Weiss silently acknowledged how her interest was piqued, but that didn’t change the fact that she still didn’t know this man. “The party can’t come fast enough. I need to share this with your siblings, so I’ll talk to you later, Weiss.”

Before Weiss could reply, the click of the dial tone was heard from the other end, and she could only sigh. In a way, she was grateful for what Yang was doing. On the other hand, if meeting this man wasn’t worth her time, she’d make Yang pay somehow. It was this reassuring thought that had her call her worst best friend and speak up before she could get a word in.

“Set up a date for Blake and me. I should at least get to know who I’ve been supposedly dating.”

* * *

That was apparently easier said than done.

Weiss supposed she should’ve expected it since the man was a lawyer, but their schedules were always conflicting in one way or another until there was exactly a month left before the party. Yang had been texting them tirelessly, so Weiss decided to at least take the woman out for a meal before making her pay if the date was terrible. In hindsight, Weiss should’ve chosen the location, but she had forgotten all about that small statement she made months ago and was not looking forward to the upcoming cooking lesson. She’d very likely need more than one, which didn’t help her mood as she sat and waited for the lawyer.

Taking a sip of coffee, Weiss subtly scanned the entrance to the cafe for her date. She was expecting to find a man who was dressed smartly, considering he was a lawyer, but she couldn’t be sure since Yang didn’t give any details when she asked. In fact, Yang had sounded suspiciously amused for some reason when Weiss had asked about him. Weiss was told to just wait and see for herself, which she could only accept because Yang wasn’t going to budge.

Leaning back in her seat, Weiss tried to ignore how overdressed she felt, which was hard to do since the patrons were staring and whispering about her ever since she had walked in wearing a pantsuit that cost more than the entire cafe and immediately headed to a table in the back. She glanced at the clock on the wall and pursed her lips. Punctuality was important to her, so she had arrived twenty minutes early, and it was now five minutes before noon, their scheduled meeting time.

In hindsight, it probably would’ve been wise to have communicated with him at least once before their date, but Weiss preferred a face to face first impression. Besides, Yang had already been talking her up to him and it seemed to be going well, so Weiss just let her continue as she was. She raised a brow when she saw the woman from the previous time enter but couldn’t tell if she was recognized since her amber eyes were hidden behind some sunglasses. The woman looked around the cafe, pausing just a bit too long in Weiss’s direction, before making her way inside. Weiss brushed it off as another person who recognized her and refocused her attention on the door.

“Is this seat taken?” Weiss looked up from where she was about to call Yang to the same woman who had just entered holding a cup that certainly did not contain coffee, silently noticing her casual and neat clothes. The plain white T-shirt and dark jeans fit her well, but Weiss quickly brushed that thought aside once she remembered the date that she was supposed to be meeting.

“I’m currently waiting for someone, so it will be.”

The woman raised a curious brow and tilted her head before pulling out the unoccupied chair and taking a seat anyway. Weiss stared at her with narrowed eyes while adamantly ignoring how attractive she looked, hating how she couldn’t tell what the woman was thinking behind those sunglasses and nonchalant demeanor.

“Let’s wait together then.” Weiss couldn’t think of a good reason to object since he wasn’t here yet, so she just hummed noncommittally.

“Are you waiting for someone as well?” Weiss asked, just to pass the time.

“I’m...supposed to be on a date.”

“Oh.” Weiss replied, ignoring the pang of disappointment she felt after hearing that. Frustrated with herself now, Weiss ran a hand through her hair and huffed when her ponytail got in the way. Undoing the ponytail, she ran both hands through her newly freed hair and was glad the woman couldn’t see her face when she smirked. A small intake of breath had come from the other side of the table, and Weiss could be satisfied that the attraction was mutual. She put her hair back up and smiled innocently. “Are you alright? You sound flustered.”

“I’m...fine,” the woman said before taking a hasty sip. Too hasty, if the immediate coughs that followed were anything to go by. Weiss graciously offered a napkin, which she gladly took. After regaining some sense of dignity, she smiled sheepishly, which Weiss found adorable.

Resting her head on a hand, Weiss regarded the woman in front of her curiously. “Aren’t you supposed to be on a date, Miss…?”

“Nope.” Weiss’s eyebrow twitched in irritation as she recalled Ruby’s exact same quote from the previous month. “Why should I tell you who I am? Maybe I’ll make a better impression if you don’t know my name. I am supposed to be on a date, but I think I’d rather be here.”

“Smooth talker. What are you, a lawyer?” Weiss quipped. She shook her head in disbelief. What lawyer would have the audacity to dress like she did? When she looked up, the woman had taken off her sunglasses and was now glaring at her. Now that was interesting, Weiss thought as she leaned forward. “What?”

“I wouldn’t assume things about people, Miss Schnee.”

“So you do know who I am.” Now they were both glaring at each other.

“How could I not? Your family’s name and pictures are plastered all over the news for the world to see.”

“Well, excuse me for wanting to find time for myself and avoid being scrutinized for once in my life. Don’t act as if you’ve actually met my family and are familiar with what we’ve had to endure behind closed doors.”

“I--” The woman cut herself off, running a hand through her hair in frustration. Weiss could hear her take a deep breath and took the time to calm herself as well. Maybe she was more on edge than she thought, the events in her life coming to a head now. She’d never met someone who she wanted to avoid and get closer to at the same time. Finally, amber eyes looked at her again, but Weiss couldn’t read the storm of emotions within. “This...wasn’t how I wanted to meet you. Can we start over?”

“What? Why would we need--”

“Blake!” Both women turned to the grinning blond man who had suddenly arrived at their table. “I just wanted to thank you again for your help last week. The orphanage had a bunch of people stop by--oh. Am I interrupting something?” He suddenly clapped a hand to his forehead. “Oh yeah! Today’s when you’re supposed to be on a date. Are you her date?” He said, turning to a confused Weiss, who was currently trying to process multiple pieces of information. Seemingly unbothered by the lack of response, he prattled on. “Oh, it’s definitely you. Nice going,” he said, winking at his mortified black-haired friend. “Well, I’ll let you two get back to it.”

As he strolled away, Weiss noted that he barely met the requirements for wearing a shirt, but the more important part that stuck out to her was the name he used. She narrowed her eyes when her gaze returned to the other woman, who happened to be named--

“Weiss, I--”

“No. You don’t get to call me that until you tell me who you are.”

“I’m...my name is Blake, and I--”

“I know who you are,” Weiss stated as she quickly stood, the chair scraping behind her. She glared down at the Faunus woman, ignoring how her heart ached when she saw how bewildered and concerned Blake looked. Her frustration overrode everything else for now, so she pressed on. “Was this some kind of joke to you? Did you and Yang plan this for a laugh?”

Blake’s eyes widened, and she quickly stood too. “I...admit that it sounded funny at the time, but--”

“Well congratulations, Blake. It looks like you have the last laugh after all.” Weiss replied, turning to leave only to pause when a gentle hand circled her wrist.

“Wait. I didn’t mean to offend or embarrass you. It was supposed to be something we could laugh at together afterwards, but obviously it didn’t work out that way. May I get another chance to make it up to you?”

Turning back to face her, Weiss stared at the sincerity in her eyes, the way those Faunus ears were slightly down, the nervous bite of her lips, and she sighed. “...I will contact you in a few days to arrange another meeting.” Immediately, Blake’s expression brightened, and Weiss couldn’t help the smile from spreading across her own face. “I’ll see you in a few days, Blake.”

“Yeah...sounds good…” Blake muttered, her tone full of surprise. Weiss couldn’t help it. She giggled, which only made Blake stare at her with a sheepish smile and slight blush.

“You’re cute,” Weiss said before fully registering the words. Then, because she had already started flirting, she continued on like nothing was unusual. “Don’t miss me too much. I’ll be expecting excellence from you when we meet again.”

Blake just nodded, not trusting her voice. Weiss smiled and stepped out of the cafe satisfied. Truthfully, things could’ve been a lot worse, and she was curious about Blake if nothing else. Blake’s accomplice, on the other hand…Weiss already had a lecture prepared for her.

Smiling, Weiss made her way home, thoughts of the mysterious lawyer and their upcoming date on her mind.


	2. In Depth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took longer than anticipated, because I was trying to get the date just right. It's also much longer than I was originally expecting it to be. There are things in this chapter that will be brought up in future chapters, so if anyone wants to try and guess at what those could be, feel free. I've also come up with a pattern of sorts for naming chapters and am particularly excited about a future one. If anyone wants to try and guess what that future name is, be my guest. All I'll do if someone does get it is confirm it but otherwise leave details out.
> 
> Biphobia, which apparently is not even marked as a word, gets brought up a few times. This chapter really did take a turn, but it's important for the story and characters. Take care, and I hope to see you at the end.

If anyone asked her, Blake would deny that she watched her date as she walked away and that seeing Weiss Schnee smile to herself brought a small smile to her own face.

“I didn’t even recognize you in that outfit.”

That smile quickly disappeared, and she turned to glare at the grinning blond man. “Sun, what are you doing here?!”

Amused, the man’s tail gestured vaguely around the public cafe, and Blake sighed. “That was cute, by the way. I didn’t know you’d be into a woman like Weiss Schnee, if your earlier blush was anything to go by.”

Raising an eyebrow, Blake stared him down, similarly to the way that she’d look at witnesses in court. He squirmed like always. “Are you flirting with me even after seeing me on a date?” When he shrugged, Blake just shook her head. “We’re not really dating anyway. She just needed to find someone...and so did I.”

“Your parents on your back again?”

“Yeah…” Blake sighed. “You might as well sit down. You’ll probably get a good laugh out of this.”

Grinning, Sun took the recently unoccupied chair across from her, his unbuttoned shirt doing nothing to hide his chest, which Blake concluded was the only reason a cute girl came up to their table asking if they needed to order anything or refills. Blake, practically ignored after asking for a refill, watched in amusement as they flirted for a bit before he sent her off with a wink. When he looked back at her, she shook her head.

“What?”   
  


“Are you ever going to be involved with someone seriously?”

“Says the woman dating someone for fake?” Blake simply took a sip of her tea while glaring at him, not having a good retort to that. Sun grinned in triumph and continued, leaning forward, his tail curling up in excitement. “So what’s the funny story?”

“It’s not funny.” Blake paused. “Not to me at least. It’s just...you know how my mom is. When she called me several months ago, she asked me again if I was dating anyone. After I told her I was too busy with work as always, she kind of gave me that disapproving look all moms have and told me she was going to set me up if I didn’t find someone in the next few weeks. I know she would do it too, so I...signed up for an account on a dating app.”

Chuckling now, Sun leaned back in the chair, resting his head on his hands and waggled his eyebrows. “I just wanna say that you could’ve asked me instead of going to all that trouble.”

Staring at him flatly, Blake responded decisively. “And watch my dad give you disapproving glares every time you spoke? I’d rather not deal with that, especially after the misunderstanding last time.”

A bit dejected but smiling to hide it, Sun just shrugged. “Hey, that just means you missed out on my charm. So how did you end up connecting to Weiss?”

After staring at him with a disbelieving raised brow, Blake continued. “Honestly, I think it was mainly luck. I didn’t even have a profile picture or anything, but there were still people who sent me messages. One of those was from Yang, a close friend of Weiss’s, who also happened to be making a profile for her. She was honest with me from the start after I asked her if she really was Weiss Schnee.” Blake set her cup down and ran her index finger over the rim as she mused. “Yang didn’t share anything too personal about Weiss, which showed me that she’s a great friend, but what she did share interested me for some reason. If there’s one thing I know about the Schnee family, it’s that there’s more to them than meets the eye…”

“I’m still surprised that you’re friends with them.”

Letting out a breath that wasn’t quite a laugh, Blake shrugged and chose her next words carefully. The blond bartender was a good friend, but she knew he wouldn’t understand certain sensitive topics. Blake closed her eyes as she spoke, not wanting to overthink what she was saying. “I don’t know if I’d call them friends. I just helped them out during a difficult time...a man like that isn’t a good influence to the people around him.”

“I bet! The family still talks to you though. Plus, that case kind of made you famous. People still don’t believe me when I say that we’re friends.”

“Don’t remind me...” Blake grumbled, a small frown on her face now. If there was one thing she didn’t like as the result of that case, it would be her sudden celebrity status.

“You two are going to be the hottest new power couple once you publicly announce your relationship, so better get used to it.”

At that reminder, Blake sighed. Right, that was something they’d have to face eventually. “She said she’d contact me again in a few days so we could meet up after our...not so successful date.”

“Aw, really? It looked like it was going well. She didn’t even freak out when you had introduced yourself as the person who put her dad in prison!”

Blake could feel her Faunus ears already turning down before he even finished speaking. “...Actually, she interrupted me--stop laughing--before I could say anything about that!”

After it was clear that Sun wouldn’t stop laughing, Blake glared at him one last time before making her way out of the cafe, already opening up her message history with Yang. Even if the relationship was going to be fake, she wanted to know what to expect before she met up with Weiss again. At least Yang would be willing to help her out.

* * *

“Wait, she still doesn’t know who you really are?!”

As Yang kept laughing, Blake wondered if any of the blondes in her life would actually help her. She reread Weiss’s text message sent that morning as she waited for Yang to calm down, the words professional and decisively setting up their date several hours from then. Briefly, Blake wondered how different Weiss’s messages would be if they weren’t such strangers to each other.

True to her word, Weiss had sent her a message a few days from their last meeting, this time scheduling a dinner date, the only thing that would work with their schedules. After sleeping in on a rare day off, Blake had responded to Weiss’s incredibly early message asking about her plans for the day, and they had eventually worked out a time and place. Suddenly, a dreadful thought occurred to her, and she looked to Yang worriedly.

“Is Weiss a morning person?”

That only sparked more raucous laughter from the blonde, causing Blake to roll her eyes and turn back towards her closet. There were clothes scattered all over the bedroom, the duo having spent the past few hours looking through Blake’s wardrobe for an appropriate outfit. After a few minutes of tossing a few more articles of clothing to the disapproved pile, Blake felt a strong hand clap her on the shoulder and tried not to flinch. Thankfully, the sound of laughter was gone now.

“I didn’t know you were so funny!”

“It was a serious question, Yang.”

“Oh. Well, she’s not. Definitely not. Neither am I…” Yang paused then continued in a softer tone. “But I have been getting up earlier for the past few years since my girlfriend gets up early.”

“Are you ever going to tell Weiss about that by the way? It feels weird to know something that big about you that she doesn’t, especially since this involves someone she’s familiar with.”

“Well are you gonna tell Weiss about how you kinda need her to keep being your fake girlfriend after the party to fool your parents?” Blake glared at her, which did nothing to change how Yang was looking at her with a raised brow, clearly expecting an answer. “See? We’re both keeping things from her.”

“You make it sound like we’re harboring these terribly dark secrets.”

Shrugging, Yang looked around the room instead of saying anything and chuckled. “Anyway, we have other priorities right now. You said she dressed up for your first meeting a few days ago?”

“I still think you should tell her...” Blake muttered before nodding. “Yeah, so you think I should dress up too?”

When Yang didn’t immediately answer, she turned to see her deep in thought. Even though Blake hadn’t known her long, what she did know made her think that whatever scheme Yang was currently concocting would be a bad idea. She opened her mouth to reject the plan, but Yang spoke up first.

“My girlfriend and I have been trying to figure out how to tell her, so maybe I’ll just say it to get it over with before the party...if you lose a bet with me.”

“A bet.” Blake repeated, skeptically. There had to be a catch or something.

“Yep. You’re guaranteed to win.”

“Fine, I’ll humor you. What exactly are you thinking?”

Suddenly, Yang had the most serious expression on her face. Blake would’ve believed that she wasn’t finding amusement in what she was about to say if she hadn’t noticed the small smirk as she spoke. Narrowing her eyes, Blake stared at her suspiciously as Yang laid her terms out.

“I agree to tell Weiss about my relationship if she doesn’t mention kissing once during your date tonight.”

Raising her eyebrows, Blake stared at her incredulously. What were the chances of that being brought up at all? Yang was just smiling innocently at her, but there was a hint of mischief in her eyes that had Blake hesitating to agree to the supposedly simple condition.

“...That’s all?”

“That’s it. See? Simple. I even made it easier for you because she has to be the one to bring it up. You can bring it up if you want and still win…” Yang smirked suddenly. “And I know you want to because you definitely wanna kiss her.”

Scoffing, Blake rolled her eyes. “Yang, I barely know her.”

“But you can still want to kiss her. Or are you telling me you’ve never seen a pretty person and want to make out with them?”

Blake could only glare at that, not refuting--not exactly--because...well, sometimes Yang had a point.

“Back to the topic at hand...I accept.”

“Yes!” Yang’s excitement was infectious, and Blake found herself smiling despite her doubts.

“How will you even know if she mentions it though? And what do I owe you if I lose?”

Yang smiled sheepishly. “I have a hunch I can trust you, especially since you’re a lawyer. I hope you wouldn’t lie to me about that. As for what you owe...I’ll tell you after we pick out what outfit to wear. Weiss likes when people dress up, so let’s look and see what you’ve got here.”

Blake didn’t like the amused tone that Yang ended with but didn’t have time to second guess her decision before she was hustled around the room to try out various outfits.

* * *

Glancing up at the towering restaurant, Blake exhaled, trying to calm her nerves. She wasn’t surprised by the location and was glad that she had been there before. That was one less thing to worry about.

Now she only had to think about how to successfully get through a date with Weiss Schnee. They both needed this to work for similarly different reasons, so that already guaranteed that they’d continue with their charade, but it didn’t change the fact that this was still a date, albeit a pretend one.

The date might have been fake, but the nerves were real.

Trying to ignore the sudden self reminder of her single status, Blake took a deep breath before walking inside the restaurant and quietly asking for the reservation made under Weiss’s name so as not to draw attention to either of them. As she was led to the private table near the back, Blake nervously smoothed her ribbon tie mini dress, feeling silly for how much she cared about Weiss’s impression of her. The other woman had already seen her dressed casually and was probably too polite to say how disappointed she really felt that Blake had underdressed--

“Blake, it’s...good to see you again.”

\--except now Blake felt overdressed. She barely registered the surprised hesitation in the casually dressed woman, too distracted by the sight in front of her. Even though Weiss was wearing a white minimalist shirt--with thinner sunglasses than what Blake owned tucked into the collar--and dark jeans, Blake could tell how expensive the clothes must’ve been. When she finally registered how long she’d been staring, Blake cleared her throat.

The sound snapped Weiss’s eyes up from where she’d apparently been staring over her outfit too, and Blake couldn’t help smiling a bit at that. Mutual attraction was good. It would make faking their relationship that much easier.

Or really complicate things. But Blake wasn’t thinking about that. She was too preoccupied with the woman who had just taken her hand in one of her own, whose lips were hovering just inches above the back of Blake’s hand, whose bright blue eyes were asking a silent question, and Blake could only nod, her mouth suddenly too dry for words.

After placing the gentlest kiss, Weiss looked up and smiled. “You look beautiful.” She squeezed her hand once then let go, and Blake missed the contact already. Blake blamed that on her years of being single and tried to ignore the urge to reach out again.

That didn’t last long as she used the same hand to cup Weiss’s cheek, finding her voice again when she saw a faint flush appear. Knowing that they could equally affect each other gave her confidence to counter the nervousness. “You look great.” Then, because she could, Blake decided to add onto that. “I didn’t know that Weiss Schnee had casual clothes.”

Huffing, Weiss gestured for Blake to take a seat and settled in herself before checking the time on her watch. “I’m going to refrain from retorting since you’re five minutes early.” Weiss looked up with a raised brow. “Do you typically arrive at appointments so close to the scheduled meeting time?”

Shrugging, Blake leaned back in her chair. “I left as soon as I finished changing. There was plenty of time left, and I didn’t want to just stand around in this dress for longer than I had to.”

Pausing for a few moments, Weiss curiously spoke up. “This is a date, not a job interview. I suppose you can consider these dates as meetings, but if I’d known that you were going to dress up, then I would’ve done the same.”

Narrowing her eyes, Blake leaned forward. “Your thoughtful friend Yang was the one who insisted that you liked people who dressed up, so I just thought…”

Blake trailed off when she saw her date suddenly smirk. Well, that didn’t seem like a good sign despite how infuriatingly attractive Weiss looked like that. When she leaned forward, Blake had to actively try to not lean back or otherwise show how intimidated she suddenly felt. In all her years of being a lawyer, Blake had never felt so off-kilter around someone before; she couldn’t anticipate what Weiss would say or do.

“You wanted to impress me.” It was spoken as a sure statement, and Blake opened her mouth to protest the truth but couldn’t even start when Weiss continued in that aggravatingly casual tone, this time with pale fingers ticking off the reasons. “It’s the logical conclusion after seeing you arrive early, dress up despite obviously preferring not to, and flirting with me, though that final reason is weak since that’s part of our act.”

Again, Blake narrowed her eyes. It wasn’t often that someone decided to verbally turn the tables on her and to do so successfully. Being under the careful scrutiny of those sharp blue eyes was definitely new but not unwelcome. In fact, she wouldn’t have minded if Weiss kept watching her closely, so she smirked instead of saying anything.

And oh, that felt like a victory of its own when Weiss’s gaze slipped down for just a second. Blake had never been so grateful for her keen eyes. The Faunus rested her head on a hand, smirk only widening when Weiss’s eyebrow twitched after Blake had placed her elbow on the table. She wanted to see if her other eyebrow would react similarly if she placed her other elbow on the table, so she did.

It did, and Blake’s smirk only grew along with Weiss’s agitation at the blatant disregard for table manners. Blake spoke up before she could be lectured. “If those are your reasons, then the same could be said for you. After all…” Blake mimicked Weiss’s earlier action, ticking off the reasons as she listed them. “I’m positive you wanted to impress me since you arrived earlier than me on each of our dates so far, you dressed up yesterday, and I’m sure you were flirting with me earlier.”

“...Touché.”

“Next time you want to make an argument, try to make sure it can’t be used against you.”

“Noted. But now that we have time for a proper discussion, I’d like to talk about the terms and conditions of our arrangement.”

“Terms...and...conditions?” Blake asked, eyes slowly drifting over to the briefcase on the table she had somehow missed earlier. “I thought it was understood that we were going to fake being in a relationship so I can accompany you to the party in about a month.”

Humming at that, Weiss took out a binder and opened it. Blake’s brows rose at the color coded tabs and clearly defined sections inside. She didn’t have long to peer closer before Weiss removed a packet and shut the binder, pushing it aside. Blake considered jokingly offering a job as her personal secretary but decided that she ultimately didn’t want to upset her fake girlfriend, who was known to have quite the temper.

“That’s simply an overview of what our arrangement is. We’ve yet to discuss the details,” Weiss stated, holding out the packet for Blake to take.

Eyeing the packet in disbelief until Weiss cleared her throat and raised her brow, Blake took it, if only so those piercing blue eyes would stop looking at her so intently. Usually, Blake would’ve tried her best to keep the attention of a beautiful woman, but Weiss was unnerving in a way that threatened to blur the lines of what their relationship was supposed to be.

“Details? Am I going to be interrogated or is this for your own peace of mind?”

“A bit of both, to be frank.” Weiss replied with the grace to look slightly sheepish. “While this would give me more comfort overall, I also wouldn’t be surprised if my mother starts questioning us about our relationship. I trust that you’re able to answer any questions she may ask you…?”

Blake couldn’t help but laugh at that. “I’m not sure what she’d want to ask. We already know each other.”

“What?!” Weiss narrowed her eyes. “How do you know--”

“Miss Schnee. Miss Belladonna. It’s good to see you two again. I was surprised to see you sitting together, but I’m guessing this is something you want to keep private?”

“Oscar, I told you to call me Blake,” she replied, smiling kindly at the waiter. From the other side of the table, Blake heard a gasp, and she tried not to make her amusement at Weiss’s reaction and lack of response to the young man too obvious. She decided to proceed like she hadn’t heard anything. “I’ll have my usual. Weiss would also like her usual. Can we also have a small bottle of white wine? We’d appreciate you keeping this quiet too.”

Nodding, the waiter nodded and smiled before walking away with their menus. When Blake turned back to face Weiss, she managed to smirk only slightly at the puzzled then thoughtful expression she was met with. After a few moments of contemplation, Weiss furrowed her brows in frustration then huffed.

“Your name sounds so familiar to me, but I can’t remember where I’ve heard it from. Who are you?”

Wordlessly and with the most neutral expression she could muster, Blake carefully reached into her dress and took out the business card she kept in her bra--Yang’s idea, for multiple reasons--and held it out for Weiss to take, similarly to the way the packet was extended earlier. Just as the blonde had predicted, Weiss’s eyes followed the movement of her hand before snapping up, concentrating very hard on her face and refusing to look elsewhere. It was cute, Blake had to admit, how Weiss was trying to ignore the small tinge of pink that suddenly appeared on her face as she snatched the card from her and finally tore her gaze away.

As Weiss read over the card, Oscar returned with a small bottle of white wine and placed it on the table. He smiled at Blake since Weiss was currently preoccupied, her brows furrowing as she seemed to piece together a puzzle inside her mind. Oscar left wordlessly, and Blake uncorked the bottle, pouring the two of them a generous amount, her way of making it up to Weiss for not revealing who she was sooner. She cleared her throat, causing Weiss to look up, and Blake could see a mix of emotions swirling in her eyes.

“I would’ve told you who I was sooner, but it looks like the universe likes interrupting us every time it could come up.” Blake said, nervously rubbing her thumb over the rim of her wine glass. Suddenly, she wanted Weiss’s approval, even if it was only as a friend. It would’ve been awkward if Weiss was the only Schnee that she couldn’t get along with, even if it was just on a professional level. “My name is Blake Belladonna, and I’m the lawyer who--”

“You’re the one who managed to send my father to prison. That...explains a lot, honestly…” Weiss muttered quietly, her eyes roaming over Blake’s face as if she couldn’t quite believe the truth. “My family has spoken highly of you in the past, and you’ve obviously helped us immensely with what you did. I’m not sure if this complicates matters between us in our arrangement or not, but I know my mother approves of us.”

“Sh-she does? That’s...good, I think.” Blake said, bewildered but also feeling surprisingly pleased until she saw the grimace on Weiss’s face.

“It...is. Her approval does make things slightly easier for us, especially since she already knows you, but once we terminate our supposed relationship, I think she’ll be heartbroken, and I don’t want to hurt her that way.” Weiss clarified after seeing Blake’s questioning expression.

“I don’t either, honestly. Maybe...we don’t have to end things so soon?”

“What do you mean?” Weiss asked, suspicious.

Taking a deep breath, Blake looked into her eyes and hoped that Weiss would agree to amending her terms. “I should be completely honest with you. It’s the least I owe you, because...I also need you to be my fake girlfriend for my parents’ peace of mind too. They’re supposed to be visiting me sometime in the future, but they sometimes drop in without telling me, so I’m not sure when exactly that could happen. All I know is that they’re really busy with work now, but that could change after a month...which would be after the party we’re supposed to be attending.”

“So you wish to extend this fake relationship for an undetermined amount of time?”

“Yeah...I know that interferes with the date on this packet, but sometimes you can’t set life events on a schedule.”

Humming at that, Weiss thought it over, her nails softly tapping on the side of her wine glass.

“Good point...which I suppose is something you’re used to hearing as a lawyer. I’ve enjoyed spending time with you so far and am surprised to say that I’m not opposed to the idea...as long as we continue to be honest with each other.”

Nodding at that, Blake raised her wine glass in a toast, and Weiss rolled her eyes before lifting her own.

“To us. And our ingenious plan. I think between the two of us, nothing can go wrong.”

“I agree. Another reason I’m glad to know you’re a lawyer is that you’re used to reading plenty of documents, so surely reading over this shouldn’t be a problem for you, right?” Weiss said in that infuriatingly charming way of hers, and Blake just sighed longsufferingly. Apparently, she had homework for later. Blake decided that, if nothing else, pretending to date Weiss Schnee would be an interesting time in her life.

After they both took a sip, Blake decided to quickly skim through the packet. Her hand stopped flipping through the pages when her keen eyes caught a specific word, then set the packet down and pushed it toward Weiss with a raised brow. In the back of her mind, the realization that she had lost the bet didn’t bother her much. Blake tried not to think too deeply about the consequences of that as she pointed the word out.

“I think we should talk about this. It’d be better than reading about it at least.”

“I was going to bring that up with you, actually.” Weiss’s eyes glinted with a hint of mischief, and with that smirk suddenly on her lips, Blake felt like she was in trouble for multiple reasons as the other woman leaned forward. “What are your thoughts on kissing? Along with the other details in that section. Though I wonder why that specifically caught your eye...”

“I don’t know what you’re implying, but--”

“You’d like to kiss me.”

“I--what? You can’t just assume--”

“So you don’t want to kiss me?”

Blake’s mouth snapped shut at that, eyes narrowing at the amused woman in front of her. This was a trap, somehow. Then, Weiss had the audacity to lick her lips, and Blake’s traitorous eyes immediately followed the movement. She swore under her breath, instantly prompting Weiss to stifle a giggle.

“...You know there’s no right way to answer that,” Blake grumbled.

Humming in thought, Weiss seemed to consider that before speaking in a much softer tone than earlier. “What about answering truthfully?” Weiss sighed. “Blake, I’m going to be honest. You seem trustworthy, so I’m not going to beat around the bush with you. The reason that we ended up in this situation is because the adults in our lives want what they believe is the best for us, which leads me to assume that we’ve both been single for a while. I won’t share details about my love life...not tonight at least...but there is one thing that I’m sure of…” Weiss hesitated then took a swig of wine, making Blake’s eyes widen in alarm.

Without hesitation, Blake rested her hand on the table palm up for Weiss to hold if she wanted the reassurance. She didn’t like seeing Weiss, who valued composure and control, so uncomfortable and suddenly fidgeting with the edges of her sunglasses as she struggled with words. Weiss stared at her outstretched hand, and Blake could only guess at the conflict warring within Weiss’s mind, her blue eyes a sudden storm of emotions. Finally, she gripped it tight--a bit too tight if Blake wanted to be honest--but Blake didn’t show any outward signs of discomfort despite that. Whatever Weiss was about to say was clearly stressful for her to admit.

“Hey, you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to. I know we should get to know each other to sell this relationship but not at the expense of our comfort.”

A choked, bitter sound escaped from Weiss, and Blake started rubbing soothing circles over the hand in hers. Briefly, she wondered if Weiss would accept a reassuring arm around her before remembering the stiff interactions that the Schnee family shared and their distinct lack of physical affection and brushed that thought aside quickly.

“I know, but...you should know this if we’re to be involved, even if it is fake and temporary.” Weiss took a deep breath, steeling herself. When Weiss’s eyes met her own, Blake could see the subtle uncertainty overshadowed by stubborn resolve in blazing blue eyes, bringing a small smile to her face. Even if Weiss stopped talking now, Blake already learned something crucial about her, and she couldn’t help but admire the fighter in front of her. “I’m bisexual.”

The bisexual fighter in front of her apparently. And judging from the tone of that admission, a proud one at that. Blake couldn’t help the small grin that suddenly appeared on her face as she suddenly felt empathetic towards the woman before her, a new understanding as pieces started coming together of how Weiss acted in public with how honest she was when it was just the two of them.

Inwardly, Blake was giddy. It felt good to know that Weiss could trust her with this, especially because...Blake understands.

_ She understands. _

“Oh...me too.” Blake, the eloquent and now excited lawyer said.

“Um…” Their eyes widened simultaneously, and they turned as one to see a nervous waiter holding their dishes. “Your food is here…” Oscar muttered awkwardly, his gaze flicking from Weiss to Blake to their still interlocked hands then finally resting on the table.

“Oscar, I hope you can keep this to yourself,” Weiss said, seemingly calm, but Blake could feel how tense she really was and squeezed her hand in hopes of reassuring her.

The young man’s eyes widened, and he nodded. “Y-yeah, of course.” He hesitated then quietly continued. “I only heard what you two said just now, but if it makes you feel better, I think it’s cool that you can be honest with each other even if you have to...act a certain way to meet the expectations of people around you.” Oscar carefully set their food down and smiled, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

Blake’s brows rose at his tone, which sounded oddly understanding, but she kept her observation to herself for now. Besides, Weiss was nodding and speaking softly now. “Even if Atlas has gradually become more progressive, biphobia remains an unfortunate problem.”

At Weiss’s assured tone, Blake’s grin widened. If she looked like a lovestruck fool, then that was intentional. It made her look like she really was falling for Weiss. Perfect for fooling people.

Oscar nodded and reassured them again that he wouldn’t tell anyone before leaving. Blake faced her date, who was currently staring at her curiously. “What? I do agree with you; it was just surprising to hear you so open about it…though now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen any relationship news involving you and your siblings.”

Pursing her lips, Weiss thought over how much she’d share about that part of her life and how much she’d share about her siblings too. While Weiss took her sweet time thinking, Blake blamed the wine for her sudden urge to find out what those kissable lips would feel like against her own. She distracted herself from that line of thinking by taking another sip, which likely didn’t actually help, but Blake was feeling too good to regret anything now. Whether it was because of the wine or the woman in front of her or both, Blake wasn’t sure and decided to focus on the present, pushing distracting thoughts to the back of her mind.

“My father has a very specific vision for how his children should live, one that includes his preferences for significant others.”

“I could’ve guessed that from my previous interactions with him.”

“Fair. But did you know that he’s actually aware of our sexualities? He just doesn’t like to acknowledge them, and no one has ever outright asked over the years, so as far as the public knows, we’re just single heterosexual rich kids.”

“All of you aren’t?” Blake paused after her question, unsure if she had overstepped but judging from how Weiss raised her brows, concluded that she had. She raised her hands in a pacifying gesture. “I...didn’t mean to ask that. Well, I did, but I shouldn’t have.”

To Blake’s surprise, Weiss giggled a bit. That only drew amber eyes back to her lips, and she immediately swore under her breath. It’s not that she didn’t want to look; in fact, the problem was the opposite. So she focused on the sound instead, and suddenly Blake wanted to hear that again. When she worked with the Schnee family, there weren’t as many smiles and even less laughter, so to see Weiss relax around her--even if it was at Blake’s expense--filled her with a warmth not even the wine could provide.

Then Weiss smirked, and Blake just had to pout. Now how was that fair? Weiss sighed and looked away as she spoke next, her voice soft.

“Anyway, I shared this because I needed to let you know how carefully calculated our public lives have been. If I were to be involved with a man, my father wouldn’t have anything to worry about, so he set me up with as many guys as he could, hoping that one of them would pique my interest. Then, we’d ideally get married and follow society’s expectations of us, and the public would be none the wiser.” Weiss clenched a fist then. “It’d be easier if I did do that, but it wouldn’t be completely truthful. And the worst part is, even if I was honest, not everyone would believe me or they’d start assuming things based on what they think bisexuality is. It’s just--”

“Biphobia.” Blake said, solemn and sighing. She raised her glass, and Weiss clinked hers without comment. There was none needed, a silent understanding passing between them, thoughts and memories, both good and bad, flicking through their minds like an old film.

“Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s get back to the topic at hand.” Blake raised an eyebrow, having forgotten what they had been talking about before Weiss’s revelation. Weiss didn’t even hesitate. “You want to kiss me.”

Ah, yes. Blake cleared her throat and licked her lips to buy time as she thought over how to gracefully acknowledge that maybe she did so what was Weiss going to do about it--but that was before she noticed bright blue eyes had locked on her mouth. Gracefulness flew out the window then, replaced with a casual air of nonchalance. “Yeah. And I think--no, I know--that you want to kiss me too, princess.”

Weiss’s brow twitched in irritation. Whether it was from the nickname or the comment, Blake wasn’t sure, but she was sure that irritating Weiss felt more fun than it probably should’ve. Blake didn’t know what response she expected, but directedness was something she was quickly learning to associate with Weiss.

“And what if I do?”

“...Really?”

“Yes really.” Weiss huffed, inconvenienced that she’d have to repeat herself. “Like I said earlier, I don’t want to beat around the bush. Our attraction is mutual, and we’d both like to kiss each other. Isn’t it easier to be honest about that?”

It was easier, Blake thought. Normally, she wouldn’t be so bold if this was a real relationship. But since this was fake, maybe she could stand to take a few risks…

Before Blake could reply, her stomach rumbled, signaling her hunger. She coughed to poorly try and deflect attention away from the sound, and her ears were immediately treated to a more pleasant sound. Weiss giggled again, and Blake blamed her immediate blush afterwards on the wine and her embarrassment--not the woman in front of her. Never the woman, since that would mean feelings, which only meant trouble. This was--and could only be--fun and feasible, nothing more.

And Blake had a lot of fun that night.

As the date progressed, the women got to learn more about each other as people do on regular first dates. They cleared their plates of all the food, and the bottle of white wine was split between them. Neither of them ended up drunk, but sober was an inaccurate way to describe their states too.

The unusual situation, the drinking, and the woman in front of her all served to blur the lines for Blake, but she was far from unhappy. Maybe she was a bit too happy and a bit too bold as the night went on, but this was fun.

And when Blake headed to bed that night, her last thoughts consisted of good food, good conversation, and very good company with great lips. It was nice to have that last thought confirmed for herself a few hours ago.

* * *

“Blake! Wake up! And let me in!”

Blake’s feline ears flickered incessantly at the constant yelling and barrage against her door. She groaned and eventually sat up when it was obvious that Yang wouldn’t stop, briefly considering if the blonde would actually break down her door if Blake refused to answer. Her eyes flicked to the clock on her bedside table, and she sighed when she saw it wasn’t even noon yet.

“I’m up! Just let me get dressed!” There was a lull in the noise.

“I mean, you don’t have t--”

“I’d rather not have your girlfriend hate me!” Yang grunted in agreement, but Blake was just glad that there were no more loud sounds. She threw on a random T-shirt and sweatpants before ambling to her door.

“What.” Blake groused after yanking her door open, still annoyed that she had to wake up so early. The word barely escaped her lips when Yang pushed her way in. Blake glared at her and was about to rudely ask why she was woken up but stopped herself when she saw how stressed Yang looked. The blonde was frantically pacing across her living room while running a hand through her hair.

“This is gonna sound weird, but I shouldn’t have made that bet with you. But maybe that wouldn’t have mattered anyway…” Yang muttered as she continued pacing. Blake frowned, worrying for her friend instead of feeling annoyance now. She could tell that Yang needed the repeated movements to get something out of her system and walked to her kitchen to grab a few bottles of water. Anything with caffeine in it probably wasn’t the best option for Yang in her current state.

“What’s this about?” Blake asked, setting the water bottles on the dining table for now. She didn’t want Yang to crush them and potentially cause a mess. When she heard footsteps approach her, Blake looked up and raised a brow when Yang took out a crumpled up piece of paper from her pocket, tossing it on the table. Blake looked down and noticed that it was ripped from the front page of that morning’s newspaper. But that didn’t matter as much as the cover story. Just the picture was enough to freeze Blake in place.

_ After they had finished their meal last night, Blake had led them to the roof after Weiss had commented about how she had never looked at the stars in Atlas due to the pollution. That was during a time where Jacques was still in charge of the most influential company on Remnant, and things had certainly changed since then. With the decreased amounts of pollution due to newly enacted policy changes and accountability measures, Blake confidently showed Weiss the various stars and constellations above them. _

_ Sometime between ribbing the shorter woman about their height differences, standing behind Weiss to quietly explain what she was looking at, and discussing the various changes in and out of Atlas--before and after the imprisonment--Blake had gotten closer. Crowding into her personal space was needed to keep them warm in the frigid Atlas air was the excuse she used as Blake kept getting closer until she stopped at a respectable distance, but her plans to end their little trip to the rooftop were forgotten when she was pulled even closer. _

_ Blake had done the only thing appropriate when pulled--in multiple ways--by a beautiful woman. Her hands had instinctively settled on Weiss’s hips while her eyes searched the bright blue ones staring her down despite their height difference, and suddenly Weiss hadn’t seemed so small anymore. Suddenly, Blake wanted to be even closer to this woman whose presence was larger than life. _

_ She felt intoxicated in a way that had nothing to do with the wine. The wine that was still on Weiss’s tongue. And Blake wanted a taste. Blake wasn’t sure who moved first or how, but she felt arms around her neck while her own were pulling Weiss in, and they were getting closer-- _

“Blake? Blake! Are you still with me?”

Snapping out of her memories, Blake was left with the picture in front of her. The angle and quality wasn’t the best, but that didn’t seem to matter when it was obvious that Weiss Schnee was kissing another woman. Below the picture, the headline and article were already filled with speculations and rumors about who this mysterious woman was and about Weiss and the Schnee family in general.

This was undoubtedly a public relations nightmare, and Blake ran her hands through her hair anxiously. After their talk yesterday, the trust that they had built might’ve been shattered now. She tried to think of who could’ve taken the picture, but there were too many people in the restaurant, and besides, she had other priorities right now. Blake had just wanted…

“Yang, I swear I didn’t mean for this to happen. It just...did.” Blake managed to say, her nervousness obvious. She looked up to see the blonde sighing.

“...I believe you. I do, honestly. You’ll have to convince the rest of the family though, especially Weiss since this is kinda about her…” Yang paused before softly continuing. “You didn’t kiss her just because you lost the bet, did you? This was real.” Too confused and conflicted, Blake just looked back at Yang, who must’ve sensed how stressed she suddenly was. “Okay, I won’t ask you about this...for now. But if you wanna make it up to her, maybe start with a gift? I don’t know if she’ll accept it or anything, but it’s worth a shot.”

Two different ringtones rang out before either of them could say any more, and both of their eyes widened when they looked at their respective caller IDs.

“How fast has this spread, Yang?” Blake asked, nerves making her voice higher than normal.

“Um...check online?” Yang responded, staring at the face of her girlfriend on her caller ID then glancing back at Blake. “I gotta take this. If she asks about you, I’ll try to talk you up, but you’ve gotta prove it to the family and especially Weiss that you didn’t mean to out her and cause this mess.”

“I know. Thank you, Yang.” Blake said, slightly distracted by panicked thoughts of a large number of people already seeing and spreading the picture around. She looked at the picture of her mom and for the first time in her life, Blake didn’t pick up, making a mental note to call back later. When the ringing stopped, Blake sat there in silence and tried to collect herself.

The air felt colder then, and Blake glanced outside to see that light snowfall had started up. As she stared at the falling flakes, Blake suddenly had a burst of inspiration. She decided to call someone else now, an old friend who she hoped was free.

“Velvet, if you’re free, I need a favor...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did say that it took a turn. Bisexual Weiss is underutilized, though I definitely understand why it's not as popular. For the purpose of this fic, that is how she'll identify. I just think it's neat and personally would like to see it more. In regards to updates, I honestly don't have a schedule. My goal is at least once a month, but I'll try to post more often than that, though that's not a guarantee. I hope you enjoyed this lengthy one.


	3. In Plain Sight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was not supposed to be posted so late, but this month, and really, this year has been so busy. It's also significantly shorter than the last one, but I hope it's still enjoyable. I hope everyone has a good Halloween and that Ruby Rose has a good birthday!

After the date from the night before--which felt like a real one if the passionate kisses were anything to go by--Weiss had gone to bed feeling quite good about herself and the unexpected situation that she was in. That feeling disappeared once she was woken up much earlier than she would’ve liked to be. When she saw who had dared interrupt her precious sleep, her glare softened.

“Klein, did you need me for something?” The butler had an apologetic look on his face, and Weiss could tell that something bad had happened even before he handed over the morning paper. Weiss stared at the incriminating picture then the headline before letting out an exhausted sigh. This was not the kind of attention she wanted on herself and her family.

“Everyone is waiting downstairs waiting for an explanation.” Klein informed her, bringing Weiss out of her thoughts and her gaze up to meet his concerned one. She tried to smile for him, but it did nothing to ease his concerns. Weiss shook her head to try and clear her thoughts.

“Thank you, Klein. Tell them that I’ll be down shortly.” He nodded after hesitating a moment, as if he wanted to say more but changed his mind. After he left, Weiss softly shut the door before leaning against it. Only now did she register her phone vibrating and lighting up with notifications, but she wanted nothing more than to crawl back in bed. Instead, Weiss took a deep breath to steady herself before moving to get ready for the day.

It was time to put their plan in place.

* * *

After fifteen minutes, Weiss was feeling more awake but no less stressed, though she tried her best to hide it as she made her way to the dining room. Ever since the arrest, even something as mundane as breakfast felt like a treat of sorts since they now had no fear to voice their true thoughts about the food and various other conversation topics that weren’t to even be considered at mealtimes. Weiss gave her family a polite smile despite the stares she received as she made her way to the big dining table.

“It’s good to see you up early for once,” Whitley drawled. Weiss held in a sigh as she faced her brother. A hostile reaction wouldn’t solve anything, especially since they were all supposed to be a united front now.

“Thank you for your concern, Whitley. I was informed that we had something to discuss.” Weiss said, not wanting to beat around the bush any longer than necessary.

“We do,” Willow stated, her voice full of an authority Weiss hadn’t heard in years. The rest of the family’s attention turned to her, and Weiss couldn’t help smiling when she noticed the glass of water next to her mother’s breakfast. That smile immediately fell when her eyes caught sight of the newspaper she was shown earlier, the image and headline making her instantly on edge. “Weiss, you know that I lo--care for you…” Willow trailed off awkwardly, as if unsure if she’d be allowed to say what she truly wanted to say.

Instead of questioning her mother like she wanted to, Weiss remained silent as Willow collected her thoughts, which took uncomfortably longer than everyone gathered would have liked. Finally, she sighed; the sound was filled with so much exhaustion that Weiss felt guilt crushing her shoulders even before her mother softly spoke. “I haven’t...been present enough in your lives for over a decade, and I’d like to get to know all of my children now. I...want to know how you’ve grown and would have liked to do so privately, but with this story, I guess I’ll be learning about you three along with the rest of the world.”

“I--we--” Weiss corrected herself since it wasn’t about just her anymore. “We never intended for our relationship to be revealed...in that way.” She chose her words carefully, mentally going over the plan that she and Blake had come up with the night before. “We were...distracted and weren’t even aware that the picture had been taken.”

“Obviously.” Whitley interjected, scoffing as he glanced at the picture again. Weiss chose to ignore him.

“Well that’s not necessarily a bad thing,” Willow remarked, to the surprise of her children again. Weiss had a feeling they’d be feeling that way for a while as they adjusted to their mother’s thoughts without the influence of alcohol. “I’m happy that you two are going strong. How does it feel...being in a stable relationship?”

Guilt settled on Weiss’s shoulders as she realized that her mother was likely thinking of her own relationship, and she quickly took a sip of coffee as she gathered her thoughts. It was just a little lie to appease her mother, but it probably meant the world for Willow to hear that she had found happiness. The speed that Weiss picked up her cup didn’t go unnoticed by Winter, who raised a brow. Weiss wasn’t sure if being questioned by her sister would be better or worse than by her mother and smiled in what she hoped would not be seen as suspicious. Judging by Winter’s skeptical frown, it didn’t work.

Not wanting to completely lie to her mother yet unwilling to reveal the truth without Blake’s agreement and because Weiss hadn’t seen that much hope in her eyes since she was a child, she decided to be vaguely honest. “I’ve...enjoyed being with Blake so far. Last night’s date was very enjoyable, as you can see from the picture…”

“Do you love her?”

Suddenly, Weiss could feel her family’s eyes on her as she blushed. It was not because of the reason that Willow thought it was for, but her mother’s excited gasp made Weiss rethink denying it outright. She couldn’t just say that she did though since Weiss honestly didn’t know what it felt like to be romantically in love with someone, and a lie like that would be too big. Weiss was interrupted by a sudden commotion at the front of the mansion, and a harried butler came up to the table. The man informed them that Blake was at the front gates being hounded by the paparazzi, and that was all Weiss needed to hear before she stood and rushed outside.

When she stepped out, most of the paparazzi turned to her, but all Weiss could focus on was how stressed Blake looked as she was surrounded by prying people. Without thinking about it, Weiss hurried over to her fatigued fake girlfriend and grabbed one of her hands. Anxious amber eyes met hers, which was exactly when the cameras started flashing. Weiss stepped in front of Blake, trying to hide the other woman from view to the best of her ability despite her shorter height. In a moment of desperation, Weiss blurted out the first thing to come to mind that would take their attention off of Blake, whose sweaty hand she squeezed reassuringly.

“The rumors are true.” That momentarily quieted the paparazzi as they waited for her to elaborate. “I am bisexual and will be holding a press conference soon to answer any and all questions. For now, I’d like to ask that you all leave and not publish anything else about this.” Before the inevitable inquiries could start up, Weiss quickly led Blake inside the mansion, ignoring the bewildered looks from her family, and only stopped once they reached her personal study.

Once inside, Weiss let go of Blake’s hand and rested her hands on her desk to steady her suddenly quick and harsh breaths. Her back was to Blake to hide her unease about her confirmation earlier, and she wasn’t sure how long she stood there before she felt steady hands gently massaging her shoulders. Usually, Weiss would have stepped away from the touch, but now it felt like the only thing grounding her. She stared at and studied the papers on her desk for something to focus on as she gradually calmed herself. Theories, numbers, and business were so much simpler than the complicated emotional roller coaster that was life.

For a few minutes, they stayed like that, and Weiss was close enough to hear Blake’s breathing gradually steady. It calmed Weiss down considerably.

“Do you like math?” Blake asked quietly, and the question was just random enough to snap Weiss out of her tumultuous thoughts. She could tell that Blake was looking over her shoulder and scanning the papers strewn about, Weiss having been too distracted to tidy up the mess before the date last night.

“I’m good at it.”

“That’s...not what I asked.” Sighing, Weiss looked at the papers again but couldn’t focus on them this time as her mind considered what she genuinely liked, instead of things she did because they were expected of her. She turned to face Blake, whose hands were resting on her shoulders now. Their eyes met.

“I haven’t...thought much about what I truly like,” Weiss said, the realization accompanied by a frown, and her eyes drifted down to lock on the lips in front of her at the same time that Blake used a thumb to trace her lips, as if she could get rid of her frown that way. “I do know that I’d like a distraction right now though.” She justified those words by telling herself that it was for Blake’s sake since she saw how panicked she looked earlier, but that didn’t stop her from enjoying the kisses they shared next. 

When they had to separate for air, Weiss felt herself getting lifted and wrapped her legs instinctively around Blake. In the back of her mind, Weiss realized that this was the first time she had brought any significant other--fake or real--into her private study. It made the situation seem more intimate, and she smiled as Blake leaned in again--

Frantic knocking on her door sounded before it was hurriedly opened, and neither woman had disentangled themselves in time before Willow started speaking. “Weiss, are you ok--?” The matriarch stopped herself after seeing the compromising position they were in. Her next words were spoken in a far more amused tone than the situation warranted in Weiss’s opinion. “I should’ve known that you two would want some alone time after dealing with paparazzi. Make sure to disinfect the desk when you’re done.”

After the door closed, Weiss and Blake just stared at each other, matching mortified looks and blushes on their faces. A few moments of awkward silence passed before Blake cleared her throat and stepped back, which brought Weiss out of her daze. The lawyer gave her a strained smile, one that Weiss returned before sighing.

“I hope my mother’s words didn’t make you uncomfortable, and I’d like to apologize on her behalf--”

“No!” Weiss stared at her, too surprised by the outburst to continue. Blake shook her head, speaking calmly now. “No, it...was a reasonable assumption of what we were doing, especially considering the position that she found us in. But I wouldn’t want our first time to be on a desk--” She abruptly cut herself off as the implication of what Blake was about to say hit them both, causing both of them to flush furiously faster than Weiss thought possible.

“You want our first--”

“Not that I expect us to ever…” Blake trailed off, and Weiss continued to stare at her. This hadn’t been addressed in their arrangement at all, and Weiss really didn’t want to address it anytime soon. She decided to change the subject.

After all, it’s not like their relationship would ever reach that point.

“Right. Well, why are you here so early anyway?” Now that they had time to calm down, Weiss finally noticed how dressed up Blake was. The tie was undone, and the suit jacket was open, but the unkempt look didn’t deter Weiss as much as it usually would have. Especially since she could only guess that Blake’s current state of dress was the result of their earlier kissing. Briefly, Weiss looked down at her own shorts and T-shirt. It seemed like they had a knack for catching each other off guard.

"I...wanted to check up on you after seeing the news," Blake replied, and the almost shy tone she spoke in brought Weiss's attention back to her. The other woman was looking away now, as if the admission wasn't something she wanted to admit outright. "What I didn't expect was to find paparazzi hiding then bombarding me once they saw me approach. Looking back, that probably wasn't the best decision after that story dropped. How do you deal with that every day?"

Letting out a humorless laugh, Weiss shook her head. “I don’t know that myself. I’ve been accustomed to being in the public eye ever since I was born. But I do appreciate you checking up on me.”

“Were you serious about that press conference earlier? I didn’t want to pressure you into ever talking about your personal life if you weren’t ready.”

“Even if I didn’t announce one, people would just continue to speculate about you, me, and our families unless I set the record straight. If that’s going to be the case anyway, then I’d rather take control of my own narrative instead of having others do it for me.”

When Blake didn’t respond for a few moments, Weiss looked up and saw the other woman staring at her, a little bit in awe, and--Weiss wasn’t sure if this was wishful thinking, which she didn’t really want to speculate on if it was--maybe a little bit attracted, in a way that would be acceptable if they were dating for real. Either way, the intensity of the stare had Weiss smiling shyly as she stared back. Blake seemed to snap out of the small daze she was in then and cleared her throat.

“That’s...really admirable. I respect that…” The words were said hesitantly, as if Blake were choosing them carefully, and Weiss bit her lip. Suddenly, all she wanted to know was what Blake really thought about that--about her--and she took a deep breath, closing her eyes to focus on the present situation. Weiss’s curiosity wasn’t important right now.

“Yes, well it’s fortunate that you’re here then. We should prepare for every eventuality that the paparazzi will throw at us…” Weiss paused when she noticed Blake grimacing uncomfortably. “Unless...you’d rather I speak for both of us?”

“No!” It was the second time Blake reacted so strongly, but this time Weiss found herself smiling at how sheepish Blake looked then. “I mean...I won’t like it, to be honest with you. But we need to be a united front if we’re going to get through this with the least amount of resistance and suspicion.”

“I just don’t want you to feel forced to do something that you obviously don’t want to do...though I suppose it’s too late for both of us in that regard. If you’re sure, we’ll have to plan this out carefully.” Weiss took out a sheet of printer paper and a pen, testing out the ink before finding it satisfactory.

“Oh, before we do this, I just remembered the other reason that I came here. I have a gift I hope will make you feel better.” Weiss watched curiously as Blake checked her pockets and took out a pouch. She smiled a bit nervously as she handed it over.

“Thank you,” Weiss said even before opening it. If nothing else, Weiss had her manners. When she did open it and took out the item, she gasped.

The brooch was beautifully made and designed. As Weiss continued to inspect it, Blake spoke up softly. “My friend is a jeweler, and sometimes I ask her to bring some of my drawings to life. I hope you like it.”

“It’s beautiful, Blake.” Then, the words registered, and Weiss looked to Blake. “Wait. You drew this?” The details on the small six sided snowflake were complex, and Weiss only looked it over again, admiring the detailing with newfound respect.

“I finished the sketch after being inspired by snow earlier and immediately went to her store to see if she had anything like it available, and she did. So I...bought it because it reminded me of you.”

“How so?”

Though she was blushing now, Blake didn’t hesitate. “It’s beautiful, like you said earlier. I’m glad we agree on that.”

Now Weiss was blushing too and looked over the brooch. The ornament may have been well crafted and designed, but it was Blake’s eyes that really made Weiss catch her breath. Needing a distraction, Weiss carefully wrapped it back up and placed it in a desk drawer. She kept her gaze down, this time focusing on the paper as she picked it up.

“I’ll wear it with my suit for the press conference. Now, let’s start planning.”

If Weiss had chosen to look up then, she would’ve seen Blake’s broad smile at her words.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as a sort of preview of a future chapter, but really, it's just something fun I wanted to share. Consider it an omake of sorts.  
> Yang: "...and here's where the fireworks will go--"  
> Blake: "You know we're just pretending to date for the party, right? It's not like I want to confess my undying love for her."  
> Yang: "You're in love with her?!"  
> Blake, blushing and mad about it: "No!"  
> Cue Weiss walking in.


End file.
